Gaia
Gaia (Alpha Centauri B III or Ayeseebee 3) is mankinds oldest, largest and most important colony world. It can be rightfully said that had mankind not discovered Gaia it may very well have destroyed itself in the aftermath of the nuclear exchange of 2116. Gaia was first discovered by the Terrestrial Planet Finder space telescope in 2084 although it was not until the explorer ship the Zheng He arrived in 2109 that it was finally confirmed that the planet possessed the capability to sustain human life. The initial plans for a colonisation program were put on hold following the nuclear exchanges of 2116, however by 2120 it had become apparent that colonisation was the only way from humanity to survive. Planetary Data Gaia has three large and two smaller continents, each is named after mythical or lost lands from Earths history - Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, Avalon and El Dorado - as well as a number of smaller islands. Despite being smaller than Earth, Gaia has more land since it has less open water. The largest continent, Atlantis, covers 52.82 million square kilometres (slightly smaller than Eurasia on Earth) and is located in the northern hemisphere. Around twenty percent of Atlantis is classed as a polar environment consisting of either ice fields or permafrost, the climate over the rest of the continent ranges from sub-Arctic to temperate. Initially Atlantis was to be left untouched by the original colonists, the land was to be left for other countries to settle. However in 2163 China announced that it was moving the bulk of its colonists from Lemuria and claiming the entire of Atlantis for itself, an act which led to the First Gaian War. At the end of the War China was allowed to occupy Atlantis but was forced to abandon all of its other territorial claims on both Gaia and Ciamverde (as well as Mars). Lemuria is somewhat smaller than Atlantis at 48.14 million square kilometres and is further south, extending from the temperate zone to just south of the equator. Originally Lemuria was divided equally between China, Russia, the United Commonwealth, and the Western European Union. After the First Gaian War the bulk of the Chinese territory was claimed by the WEU with the other countries gaining smaller concessions. The Russian territory was reduced however after the Second Gaian War and today the UOE controls almost half (48%) of Lemuria with the rest been split between the Commonwealth (32%) and the R-USSR (20%). The bulk of the Soviet territory on Gaia is on Mu in the Southern Hemisphere where they control 55% of the continents 37.08 million square kilometres. The remaining portion of Mu is controlled by Brazil. Brazil also has territory on Avalon, the smallest continent. Covering just over 15.1 million square kilometres Avalon is split equally between Brazil and the UOE. El Dorado sits on Gaia's South Pole and the bulk of its 19.92 million square kilometres is covered by kilometre thick ice. Only around the extreme northern edges is colonisation possible. All five nations have outposts and small settlements around the fringes of El Dorado, mostly connected to mining or fishing. Of the smaller islands the largest group is the Young archipelago, part of the UC colony of New Wessex, seven large and eighteen small islands totalling 810'291 square kilometres. The largest solitary island is the 40'102sq kilometre восемнадцать двенадцать (eighteen twelve) which is home to half a million Soviet colonists. The islands name comes from the date it was first surveyed (18th December 2119). The Gaian day is much longer than a standard Earth day at 34.7 hours whilst the local year is just 214 days long. As a result the Gaian year is slightly shorter than an Earth year (7'534 hours compared to Earth's 8'769 hours). Population Breakdown As befitting Earth's oldest extra-solar colony Gaia has a large and diverse population. Over two and a half billion people call Gaia home with several thousand people emigrating there every month. The vast bulk of the population trace their heritage back to either the CEGD (51%) or the UOE (26%). The other colonising nations are Brazil, the Reformed USSR, and the United Commonwealth. Native Flora and Fauna Despite having been colonised for over two centuries large areas of Gaia remain unspoiled wilderness. All of the colonising nations have set aside land as nature reserves of one form or another. A number of local animal species have been domesticated and several plants have been modified for cultivation. Fauna The dominant group of land animals belong to a family very similar to the proto-mammalian therapsida of Earth's early history. These creatures are warm blooded like mammals and have short, coarse body hair but their skeletal sructure is closer to reptiles. They are egg layer, producing between one and four soft shelled eggs per year, although they feed their young via lactation pores in a similar method to marsupials. The largest land predator on Gaia is the Anubis Wolf-lizard, found across both Atlantis and Mu. The Anubis wolf-lizard is similar in size to a large, heavy-set cougar (1.6-2.1m long including tail, 90-100kg), it takes its name from its jackal like head. Like wolves and lions the Anubis wolf-lizard is a social, pack living creature more than capable of taking down all but the largest prey animals. There have been numerous attacks on humans over the years, mostly hiking parties or xeno-biology groups. Over the years numerous attempts have been made to domesticate the Anubis Wolf-lizard but these have all met with failure. A smaller species, the Pebble Headed Wolf-Lizard, is found across the northern continent of Atlantis and there has been some success in domesticated this animal When the first colonists arrived on Gaia they were met by vast herds of a plains dwelling creature later named the Bos Lizard. Weighing in at over a ton and capable of reaching two metres at the shoulders the bos lizard is suprisingly docile and was quickly domesticated by the early colonists. Another species which the first arrivals hoped to domesticated was a smaller creature known as the Capri goat. Smaller and more agile than the Bos lizard the Capri proved harder to catch at first and when the first specimens were eventually shot it was discovered that domestication was not an option. The flesh of the Capri has a rank taste similar to rotting meat whilst the texture was (perhaps generously) described as "like a rubber boot, left to marinade in petroleum jelly for a week or two before been washed in silty water". The hide of the Capri, however, is ideal for leather goods been stronger and more supple than that of a cow or Bos lizard. The blood, bones, hooves, and horns also make an excellent fertilizer rich in phosphorus and potassium. For these reasons small scale domestication has taken place across the planet. The main method of disposing of the flesh and organs is to rend them into a dry meal which is fed to the larva of a local insect, the cadaver beetle. The larva, which can grow up to 3.5cm long, are collected before they pupate, freeze dried and sold as feed for both poultry and fish farms. This process is sometimes called "third party protein". A major pest species on Gaia is the skink-rat, a creature which fills the same ecological niche as rats on Earth. A skink-rat resembles a large, long-legged rat with a short, fat hairless tail. The lack the gnawing teeth of true rodents, instead their teeth are similar to an opossum. When food is plentiful the skink-rat undergoes a population explosion with females producing broods of between four and eight young every three weeks, the normal breeding cycle is three or four litters every six months. As a result food stores can be quickly overwhelmed if the population is not kept in check. The most common forms of control are poisons and sustained infra-sonic emitters which drive the creatures into a frenzy until they die of either adrenaline poisoning or cardiac failure. Hunting with small calibre firearms and trapping are also used, the pelt of the skint-rat is sometimes used to make chamois leather for cleaning glass. Flora Gaia has very few species of grasses, their place in the ecosystem is filled by a huge variety of mosses. One of the few species present was quickly modified by the early colonists for agricultural purposes. Generally known as Bodmin rye grass this perenial species has been developed into dozens of cultivars. Dried pasta made from flour produced by Bodmin rye was one of the first foodstuffs shipped back to Earth in the early years of the colonisation programme. The average yield for Bodmin rye is 3.76 tonnes per hectare, although a few farms have managed to produce as much as 4.52 tonnes per hectare by using high levels of (expensive) chemical fertilisers. Annual global production of Bodmin rye reached 500 million tons for the first time in 2397 and is expected to reach 600 million tons by 2430 A far less popular plant is the Midnight Lily, an herbaceous perennial plant found across the planets temperate regions. The sap of this plant is the source of the main ingredient of the narcotic Blue Ice. The Midnight Lily gains it's name from its habit of flowering in the late evening which attracts nocturnal insects. Category:Colony Worlds Category:Garden Worlds